


Millicent

by SeptimaSevera



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Original Character Death(s), Pre-Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Sexual Assault, Sniper!Hux, The First Order, The Force, Violence, mentions of torture, tfa prequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-09
Updated: 2016-06-09
Packaged: 2018-06-10 08:13:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6947044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SeptimaSevera/pseuds/SeptimaSevera
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the Galactic Concordance, a power vacuum was created. There, the First Order could thrive, rising to its feet from the ashes of the fallen Empire. At first, they were silent; yet the power hunger drove them out of their hideout, and through it they established a new era of terror... - we all know that. But what happened prior to General Hux hating Ren so much that he would gladly dispose of him should it not be prevented by the Supreme Leader? What could Kylo Ren possibly do to turn Hux into thoroughly evil, power-hungry man who would dare to crush the New Republic under the heels of his boots?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Millicent

**Author's Note:**

> I like the idea of Hux having a cat. Also, I am a big fan of him being former sniper - at least by military training. He had to be more than the vicious, spiteful and ever calculating cold-blooded murderer who would not bat an eye while executing the order to wipe out whole planetary systems and kill billions of people in the process. He had to have a heart, however - at least once. And thus I have created the character of Mara Pace, fellow officer-in-training, to interpret my idea of Hux's transformation into the hated General.
> 
> Please note that I have created this story because of procrastination, and thus did not pay much attention to details. The Star Wars universe is so vast that I would get lost in it quite easily; and although I am a fan of it, I have fully appreciated only the seven filmed episodes so far. So should you have problems with legends or canon, I must admit that I have not paid much attention to them...  
> By the way, I do not own a cat, so my idea of taking care of feline predators is somehow vague (and thus not mentioned to extent here).
> 
> Finally, this piece is 9000+ characters long, yet I did not feel like dividing the story into multiple chapters. And I have decided that I will not apologize for it - I would rather gain the reputation of insufferable b*tch of the galaxy, you know...

## Millicent

### United We Stand, Divided We Fall

The darkened chilly corridors of the base were strangely still. They almost looked sterile in the dimmed light, and she shivered involuntarily. She did not like the feeling of creepiness that she felt in the pit of her stomach every time she walked there. Tonight something else was in the air, though. A strange sense of anticipation –

An alarm went off just a few seconds prior to a series of quakes that shook the corridor. Suddenly, her body was thrown towards a wall violently when the base banked. Or was it an impact?

Mara tried to stand up, but was painfully knocked down in another violent manoeuvre before she was finally able to run towards the command centre. However, approaching it unarmed proved to be a reckless plan in execution since it seemed as if all hell went loose near the bridge.

Also, she was not on the base anymore – by the specific layout, this was definitely one of Star Destroyers.

How the hell did she get there? –

She had no time for thinking, though, as few stray blasts flew in her direction. Disappearing in the side corridor sounded like a best idea Mara had at that moment –

And there he was: ginger hair, black uniform smeared, a motionless body lying in the pool of rich red arterial blood.

“Hux!” she yelled, falling on her knees beside him. But instead of vital light in his eyes, her gaze was met by glassy stare of death –

– She woke up with a start, drawing breath as if she was drowning in her nightmare. Her heart racing, Mara felt the surge of adrenaline in her veins. It could not be helped, though, and it did not back up even after she took in her surroundings. On some point, she rolled off the bed. It was clearly still a night, and she vaguely remembered getting in the infirmary after a loud snap told her that she broke left clavicle yesterday.

Or was it yesterday?

Doctor ordered her to stay in medbay overnight so the medicine – whatever that gelatinous _muck_ was supposed to be – could help her accelerate healing process.

Her memories slowly returned. But instead of getting back on the bed, she rose to her feet and walked towards exit. Although medical droid tried to stop her and denied her permission to leave freely, Mara just shrugged it as if it was only a bothersome insect. “Fuck the droids,” she muttered under her breath, not turning back.

Feet carried her towards firing range instead of her humble quarters. Every last bit of weariness left her long ago; moreover, since it was technically early in the morning already, nobody dared to question her. Mara did not pay attention to her whereabouts much, and before she could think clearly of her actions, she stood before the familiar locker where she kept clean clothes and training gear. First of all, however, she had to take shower.

It took only one glance towards the mirror to assess all fresh bruises covering Mara’s body.

Aside from broken clavicle and dark spots on her ribcage, however, there were no tracks of any serious injuries she had received during the blast, though.

“Look who’s the morning person,” were the exact words that greeted her upon her return from showers.

“I am not,” she retorted, looking straight onto the face of her ginger-haired friend sitting on a bench.

There was a smirk twisting his lips, and lit cigarette between his thumb and forefinger. Fortunately, they disabled the fire detector long ago, otherwise Hux would set it off, albeit unintentionally, quite often. “I have thought they would let you out of infirmary later,” he said.

“Well, you know that droids suck at keeping me locked,” Mara mumbled. She was currently struggling with the automatized locking system of her prosthetic hand. “I never stay in medcenter too long.”

All of sudden, he was standing before her with solemn face. “Then you should perhaps know that the training field on the planetoid has been closed since the sabotage,” he whispered while his fingers brushed against the artificial skin on her left forearm. “Commander has been raging, giving a hard time to everyone about it being even possible to track us there. Security personnel got the worst of it, though.”

She glanced up from the contact, ignoring the tingling sensation she would perhaps never get used to. “I’m not afraid of them,” she tried to say with determination, yet her voice betrayed her lack of self-assurance.

Hux was holding her gaze for a moment before he concluded: “No, you are not.” He turned back to the bench, and sitting on it, continued. “However, you are stubborn. And if I were you, I would be wary of this… flaw.”

“It would seem that your father has no objections against any of my flaws,” she shrugged. “Besides, it was most likely the syndicate; we’ve been monitoring their increased activity near this sector for quite long now. They would like to get rid of us since our presence is messing with their _activities_ pretty badly I can imagine.”

“Maybe,” he muttered, letting the cigarette smoke out from his nostrils.

A few moments of silence passed. Mara was dressing up in front of Hux while he was watching her shamelessly. Although they had maybe been romantically involved sometime in the past – which led to reckless yet accepted marriage proposal eventually –, they had long since ended the affair, yet remained good friends. She was at ease with him, regarding his presence as nothing but supportive. Hux, on the other hand, would have some immodest suggestions from time to time. Pure physical matters she would gladly agree to, and then would try to justify them as stress relieving, or… whatever. So perhaps their affair was far from ended –

“Join me today or what?” she turned to him finally, taking leather gloves from the shelf and closing the locker.

“Why would I do that?” he asked, playing surprised. However, the spark of amusement in his eyes betrayed him. Hux was always crappy liar around her, by the way.

“Some practice would do you good, Hux. Your aim has been shitty these days,” she smirked before she turned on her heels and headed out of the locker room.

“What the fuck?!” She would swear that she heard him howl. Did her words hit his over-sensitive ego? Before she could ponder on the idea further, however, he caught up with Mara, grabbing her arm and thus stopping her from leaving. He observed her first, paying attention to every detail. “Seriously, though. What is in it for me?” he asked after a moment that felt as ages.

“Pissing contest, as always,” Mara said teasingly, getting out of his reach easily. It took her only to round the corner to get to the armoury.

\- - -

“You’re weak,” his voice hissed in the communicator.

Was his proclamation supposed to be a tease, or was he actually showing a concern toward her as she lowered her rifle to rub her sore spot on her shoulder? Was he watching her from some near outpost to be able to glimpse the shadow of pain that clouded her face when she pulled the trigger? She would say that the recoil messed up with her collarbone pretty badly, though.

“We can stop if you need a break.”

“And let you make fun of me, Hux? Never,” Mara gritted her teeth and grounded the rifle butt in her other shoulder. Then she retreated to another hideout – her current one was undoubtedly compromised.

“Are we seriously doing _this_?” his distorted voice cracked again. This time she was able to say that he was gradually becoming pissed. But the pre-programmed simulation stopped him from further engaging her in any sort of conversation as it locked on his sniper position.

Furthermore, she was able to engage him as a target, too. Red laser dot was dancing over his heart now. Again, she pulled the trigger. “You’re dead.”

\- - -

They were bound to leave for their first missions around the same time, yet their paths separated in the hangar bay. As Hux disappeared with other snipers and a battalion of Stormtroopers in many troop carriers, she had to wait for a specific person; Knights of Ren requested to have her at their disposal.

Soon after the departure of troops, a corvette with a hull painted completely black without any visible mark landed on the main hangar deck. When the platform touched the floor, two figures appeared and headed toward her spot.

Commandant standing beside her tensed visibly in their presence and gulped, refusing to return her gaze.

The taller one of duo had his face masked by a helmet, while the other was a female Twi’lek with red skin a rather petite body frame for average standards of their race – not that Mara had had any chance to get near them ever. “Lieutenant Mara Pace?” she asked, briefly glancing down on her datapad.

 “At your command,” Mara replied.

The red-skinned alien tapped something on the screen. “Take this,” she said as the man who arrived with her threw a pile of clothes towards the sniper who caught them swiftly. “Thank you, Commandant, that would be all,” she turned to the man standing beside Mara and dismissed him. She then introduced herself as Seku before she urged the three of them to return to the corvette.

Of course the mission was top secret; Mara did not know what she was expected to do until she faced it directly: they were hunting slaves for the Hutts. Was this the fair example of how the First Order managed its financial accounts?

Better if she did not know; though it was little too late to not get involved.

A fourth person joined their group soon after crossing the border of their destination. Although Mara learned quite soon that the masked man was one of the Knights of Ren, his presence on board did not give her goosebumps as the other one did. She also noticed that Seku’s behaviour changed, too. The newcomer was Scorpius, the Knight so vicious and immoral that spending time in his proximity felt like thousands of years caught up in the gravitational field of the black hole – at least the Twi’lek was clearly acting as if so.

Should Mara be afraid?

“Since when does Ren send me _shab_? She’s weak. She practically smells of fear,” she heard from the cockpit.

“Lord Ren did not choose her for this _mission_ ,” Seku opposed with a hint of retort seeping through forced politeness. “I did. And my choice was based on her exceptional record.”

“ _Lord_ _Ren_ ,” Scorpius snarled with a voice full of venom. He did not have to say anything else, yet Mara instantly understood that he harboured pure hatred for his Master. “That rebel scum will never be a true Sith.”

A beeping of her scanner turned Mara’s attention from further eavesdropping, though. “Oh, shit,” she mumbled involuntarily.

Dealing with a rise of panic in her chest while being around at least two of Snoke’s pawns was not a situation constant training and drill could prepare her for. Usually – although she reminded herself to be on guard in their presence – she would be strangely at ease, and nothing concerning her job could not make her uncomfortable. Pulling the trigger was a simple task for her, after all.

Honestly, she could not imagine doing anything else, and marching to the battlefield under the First Order banners did not make much difference. Perhaps another time in another place would lead her to some criminal Syndicate, or even the New Republic; but she would always remain being a soldier, somebody’s puppet. She would probably be unable to lead a quiet normal life in a remote corner of the galaxy –

“Attention, Lieutenant,” the Twi’lek snapped.

Mara glared at her, yet was not capable of channelling malice towards her. When the pale hologram appeared over the console in front of her, she marked four spots in red, muttering in the process, “The bioscanners are putting up strange signals here, here, here and here. Computer assesses them as non-humanoid. It could be anything from acklay to rathtar: basically dangerous. But should you ask me, I’d bet on acklay, since rathtars hunt in packs and four is not a pack.”

“No one asked for your scientific analysis,” a voice of Djarro Ren rasped behind them.

Although he spoke to them scarcely, she did not like him any more than Scorpius. Besides, both Knights probably shared the same traits in character, otherwise they would not serve under the same organization.

“What do you suggest?” Seku asked nonetheless.

“That depends,” Mara shrugged.

Scorpius appeared in the back of the ship, coaxing a ghastly sound that could be laughter as well as rage, and thus making both females turn to him. “Selling them to local warlords,” he barked then with no trace of previous amusement.

“Then poison darts,” the sniper turned back to Twi’lek. “Common tranquilizers would not have any effect on animals their size, anyway.”

\- - -

Both suns were setting on desert planet Tatooine and three hooded figures were leaving the palace of the Hutts. However, even though the current crime lord of the clan paid them relatively well for slaves, Scorpius did not consider it nearly enough; so he assigned the Twi’lek female to plan another operation –

But when she nodded and turned her back toward both Knights, the angry sizzle of red lightsaber cut through the air.

And Seku was no more.

“Congratulations, _Lieutenant_ ,” Djarro turned to Mara with a grimace, “you’ve been promoted.” He said it sarcastically, as if he knew exactly what would follow.

“What –?” was all she could muster, confusion reverberating through her brain bordering with pain.

“She was useless,” Scorpius sneered at her in a low voice. “You’d better prove useful – otherwise I’ll dispose of you as swiftly as with her. Understood?”

“Yes, sir.” She could not resist the urge to avert her eyes from him, though. As she did so, she heard him hiss, and suddenly felt afraid since Scorpius was quick-tempered and _sucked_ in controlling his raw emotions.

Would he perhaps raise his hand against her and strike as she witnessed involuntarily so many times on the ship? Although Mara had sensed that the Knight and Seku could never stand one another, and that the female had tried to avoid him as much as the cramped conditions of the ship would allow, sometimes she heard them – not that Scorpius would actually make any effort to conceal anything. There were always voices in the pitch-dark of bunk units, muffled whines and cries of pain as if he tortured her. Yet those were soon followed with grunting and panting, slapping of his heavy balls when he was thrusting roughly into her, riding her hard. And she would notice the other day because Seku would be silent, inwardly wincing at any movement of her bruised body which Mara would sense somehow. Sometimes, the poor Twi’lek would look as if he had drugged her the night before.

Scorpius was brutal; a sadist who would not hesitate to punish her for disobedience. Yet, as other powerful men, his ego was always boosted by the fear mirrored in the eyes of his victims because every time he would watch the result of his terror.

And in his eyes, Mara was standing before him, her doe eyes emitting fear that was practically choking her right now. It pleased him greatly.

“Good.”

However, it took only few days before she found herself locked inside that cramped bunk room with Scorpius Ren. And thus, before Knights returned her to the First Order, she would have to live through Seku’s experience first –

Scorpius thrusted her against a wall suddenly, locking her in place with his body. He pressed her into the cold metal with his hips, holding her beneath her chin firmly while he licked her aurlicle. “You like it rough, don’t you?” he was panting into her ear. When only a silent moan escaped her lips, he chuckled. “You are a greedy slut.”

Mara felt a pressure in her head, and suspected that he was able to read her mind – as Knights of Ren were rumoured to. “I. Am. Not.” Although resistance was futile in this case, she tried to push him away nonetheless. Yet it only resulted in him tightening the grip and getting a hypodermal injection from somewhere, pressing it against her neck. It stung at first, then hissed as the cartrige emptied directly into her bloodstream.

And she vaguely recognized the effect of sedative renatyl before she started feeling somewhat lightheaded, fatigue taking over her body…

Coming to oneself after being drugged may be an utmost unpleasant experience – more so when the feeling of sharp pain ceases to be subdued by the drug-induced haze. Mara could not suppress the desperate cry right then. What happened? She could not remember right then, yet something told her it was not –

She was lying on the floor of the bunk room, the grating pressing into her back uncomfortably; however, she caught no trace indicating that she was not alone there. Even though her head was pounding and the world seemed spinning uncontrollably, she tried to sit up, catching the piece of shattered cloth sliding off her naked form just in time. But then a sense of dread gripped her racing heart with its cold claws as she noticed bruises and needle marks on her inner thighs.

“That _fucker_.” A spark of recognition flickered in her mind, adding yet another ache to the already long list.

When she finally crawled on her legs towards the bunk bed where she had previously seen some clothes to put on, she suddenly froze mid-motion as a hushed voice she did not recognize talked behind the still closed doors.

“Has she awaken yet?” it asked.

“ _After what he probably did to her? I would wish I died if I were in her situation right now._ ” It took Mara a moment to realize that it was a droid that was beeping in answer to the previous question. But she had never met any droid with that developed vocabulary, though. Furthermore, until now, she had always been unaware of her ability to actually understand droids.

Which led her to yet another question: where the hell was she?

“We are unable to trace the escape pod, sir,” another voice reported, sounding a little bit distorted and thus mechanical, and it definitely belonged to a Stormtrooper.

“Are those vital signs really hers, chief?” the first man spoke again in a hushed voice.

And he most likely referred to the droid as to _chief_ for it immediately responded with set of beeps. “ _It seems that they activated her tracking device specifically before they so hastily left her in our operational area._ ”

What tracking device? What operational area? –

The door opened to reveal two First Order officers, an astromech droid and two Stormtroopers. Four pairs of eyes and one camera were now looking at her clutching the edge of a bunk while she tried to will the space around her stop spinning so rapidly. It made her stomach turn in unpleasant ways, and Mara was more than sure that the last time she felt this sick was when she had stalked inside flight simulator for the first time back at the college when she had been no more than ten years old.

“Are you alright, Lieutenant?” one of the officers approached her warily, trying to establish an eye contact with her. But she could not answer. “Lieutenant, are you alright?” he asked again.

She turned her head in his direction, yet suddenly her vision went white –

And she woke up strapped to the bed, a searing white light shining directly above her. She flinched, groaning weakly. She was feeling exhausted and worn out both physically and mentally. And disoriented – that most of all.

“Simulation number three-oh-eight-seven is now over,” a gentle feminine voice announced from the speaker. “Recorded reactions of the subject are being archived now.”

\- - -

“Your test results are exceptional, Lieutenant, and deserve to be appreciated. Your talent and skill will be acknowledged,” the Commander said to her. “But now, you deserve a rest – you spent there more than ninety-two hours, that’s a record.”

“It felt like an eternity,” Mara croaked, her voice still raspy and tired. She was lying on the bed in infirmary where they had carried her to after the simulator had been disabled. She had the intravenous nutrition applied. Furthermore, some of the drugs they had used in a cocktail during the experiment were still persistent in her system, since many of their long-term effects yet had an impact on her body and mind.

“That’s the point,” he smirked.

At that moment, she could not refrain from shooting him a glance of slightest annoyance. But right then, her head sunk back on the pillow. She was staring at the ceiling before she eventually dared to ask, “Why him, sir?” She gulped. “Why Scorpius Ren?”

“The Supreme Leader personally requested the presence of the Knight during the experiment, and the High Command did not raise any objections against it during the candidate selection,” he shrugged.

“So he was _there_ all the time,” she mumbled it more to herself, letting out a sigh.

The Commander only smirked, then turned on his heels and left without another word. However, he was followed by Mara’s cry of frustration as the door slammed shut behind him.

\- - -

“I need you _right now_ ,” Mara panted.

Hux turned them so he was on top now, yet she did not cease wrapping her thighs around his waist. At first, his hands were skimming her torso just lightly, but then he sneaked them under her shirt and maybe unconsciously applied more pressure for she suddenly winced in pain as he touched one of Mara’s persisting bruises.

He pulled away from her, grimacing as if she slapped him. “ _Lights_ ,” he barked, and the dim room became brightly lit. He was watching her intently now.

She groaned in frustration but could not turn away from him.

“What did they do to you?” he whispered, tenderly stroking her face before he hitched up her shirt. He hissed upon seeing the deep purple bruise covering her right side and continuing over the stomach towards navel. But Mara only grabbed the hem of her clothes and pulled it over the bruised area of her body, refusing to meet his eyes momentarily. Yet Hux grabbed her wrist and stopped her. “Wait,” he noticed something. “Is this actually a _handprint_?” His fingers traced the skin around bruised area, and he mentally winced when he also saw numerous needle marks.

“Let’s not talk about it,” she breathed at last, sitting up and reaching for his lips. She put all of her desperation into the kiss, inwardly feeling that the mood was slipping through her fingers as he probably managed to kill it effectively –

She was right: he did not allow her to continue that evening.

\- - -

The High Command informed her on next mission soon. The First Order was now a serious threat to the New Republic, though, and their operatives had to be extremely cautious now. They had spent many years hiding in the Outer Rim of the galaxy, carefully rebuilding, and rising from the ashes of shattered Empire. Now their time had finally come. Mara might be none too happy with them using her as an assassin for she was one of best snipers they had trained; however, she was not disobedient, either. Sending her on missions like this instead of hiring some dubious bounty hunters – although it was known fact that many of them were acquaintances and former students of the Imperial Academy at some point – had its advantages. The most important one was the fact that she would not run to the other side should they offer better price.

She received a short briefing about how Leia Organa was currently assembling the best men under the Resistance because the New Republic still denied to believe that there indeed was a new player in the game of power over the galaxy out there. She also received the names of her targets: all of them were secret supporters of the rebels. They were their informants inside the Galactic Senate.

Four names were currently on her list, all of them representing high-ranking senators, some of them directly under the chancellor Mon Mothma.

Mara tracked first two on Dantooine and Kessel, both planets of the Outer Rim. Therefore, taking down both targets was swift. The third one suspected that someone was after him, and the pursuit led Mara to Hosra, relatively abandoned planet with no wealth at all. Even that was relatively simple job, though.

The pain in the ass was the fourth and final one: a woman who fled to Naboo in the Mid Rim. And although she tracked her victim there, it was far too on public display to execute the order for her at first. Naboo was not exactly a usual witness to bounty hunting, and any hasty action could draw unwanted attention towards her quite easily. Jeopardizing the First Order would undoubtedly be her death warrant; even though the Republic officials still denied its existence despite its various espionage and sabotage actions that could be linked to the Order directly.

She would lose many weeks before she would get a chance to finish the senator here…

Although she had not had a particular nightmare in years now, one particular dream crept into her subconscious again while on the planet surface. And so again, she avoided sleeping as long as she could before she finally submitted to utter exhaustion. Those nights she hated the most because the dream showed her the dead body of her dear – and perhaps only true – friend over and over again, leaving her trashing and screaming from her sleep. She would be haunted by the visions for days in the end, unable to focus on her task.

Neither driving herself to complete fatigue nor submitting to drinking alcohol did help. Sometimes she felt like seeing and hearing things that were not real, too, and only meditation could turn her from becoming utterly delusional. Nevertheless, her attention suffered the most, and Mara one day learnt that the senator returned to the Hosnian system.

“Dammit!” she spat, kicking the dirt angrily.

If looks could kill, her informant would suffer from thousand deaths already. “I-I…” he faltered, totally failing in forming a single coherent sentence.

“I should’ve killed you when I had the chance,” she whispered threateningly, yet her blaster remained in its holster. It would be one unnecessary death, and Mara could not submit to the rage she was feeling at that moment. She had to remain in control at all costs –

Something brushed against her leg.

She looked down, only to be met by a pair of vivid green eyes of a stray cat. She would have to drive it away eventually when she would be heading back to the tarmac.

“T-the s-ship… Ho-ho-hosnian Prim… Prime,” the informant tried again.

“Damn you thrice, you nerf herder!” Mara barked toward him as she paid him for his mostly useless information before she put the mask back on and turned to leave. She knew more than well that Hosnian Prime meant trouble. And the order was to stay away from it – to stay away from the New Republic. Nobody wanted to poke the hornet nest yet.

At the end of the unsuccessful day, she returned to her shuttle. However, she was unable to shake off the kitten that followed her.

It looked famished.

“No food for you,” she said harshly at first, pissed that the animal followed her all the way here and was so bold that it dared to enter the vehicle fearlessly. However, after careful observation, she was able to notice its orange fur bristled as it clearly pretended to be bigger and more fearsome in foreign environment.

 _That’s the spirit,_ she thought involuntarily.

It was watching her shamelessly as Mara prepared her evening meal from the quarter portion.

\- - -

“Your presence is required on the bridge, Lieutenant,” a random Stormtrooper announced before she could climb off the shuttle and set foot on the floor of the hangar bay properly.

“Roger that,” Mara blurted without a second thought as she adjusted the rifle holster over her shoulder. She then turned to some technician who was currently examining her shuttle from outside, and reminded him to adjust the propulsion reactor according to the parameters she left on control panel inside after he was done with usual maintenance. She also forbade him to get rid of any unusual _objects_ should he find any.

Being led to step before the command, she was instantly worried of what would they say about her mission failure. And more importantly, what would they think of it. She did not fulfil their demands, after all – senator Carise Sindian still lived.

She did not have much time to ponder that thought, though, as she was soon confronted with the sight of commanding officers still turning their backs to the door. To the right of commandant’s spot, there was a familiar figure of Hux. And aside from him, a tall body wreathed in black – could it be that the Supreme Leader sent his apprentice on board already?

And what was Hux doing here? Where was the admiral?

“Dead,” the man in black turned in her direction, as if hearing her thought.

He was wearing a mask; and should he be standing much closer and towering over her, Mara would think it definitely intimidating. Not today, however. She would not flinch before the Master of the Knights of Ren now, would she? “Lieutenant Mara Pace reporting for duty, sir,” she said without hesitation, bringing the attention of other two to herself ultimately.

Kylo Ren was clearly observing her, assessing as much information as he could get from this first encounter with her. “Lieutenant,” his distorted voice was powerful enough to reverberate through her body and mind, “has your mission been successful?”

She would swear that he tilted his head slightly.

“Unfortunately, the last asset escaped. Because the order was to stay away from the Hosnian system, I did not pursue senator Sindian further.”

“Do you realize that you have probably wasted our only chance to strike?” There was a palpable tension in his voice that even the modulator could not conceal.

“Yes, Lord Ren,” Mara nodded.

“You have disappointed the Supreme Leader.”

“Yes, Lord Ren.”

Yet his insults were far from over. “You have brought shame on your head, Lieutenant.” He used his power to pull her towards him with the Force, invisible hands pressing to her windpipe in a choking grip. “Or is it an impossible task to deprive the assets of their lives? Have you not been trained to kill _effectively_?”

“That’s enough, Ren!” she heard Hux call behind them.

“You are disgrace to the First Order,” he hissed, the cold metal of his mask almost pressed against her cheek. With that, Kylo Ren released his hold on her and she dropped to his feet. Massaging her tender neck, Mara could imagine him sneering at her behind his mask before he turned and took few steps away from her. “You’re dismissed, Lieutenant.”

Later that evening, she was sitting on the bunk bed in the quarters currently assigned to her. Maybe she was expected to share the room with other lieutenants, yet her surroundings bore no trace of occupation. Her few personal things were there already when she was escorted to the door; she was now sorting through them in pursuit of some clean clothes after the shower she just had. The stray cat was yet hidden inside a satchel, and as she was willing it to abandon its relatively safe hideout, a knock on the door startled her.

Mara hit the panel to open the door, not caring that she could be considered as quite underdressed at the moment.

Hux was standing in the hallway. “May I come in?” he asked politely and she stepped aside to allow him inside. When the door closed behind him securely, he came closer to her as if to inspect the bruises already forming on her throat. He grimaced. “I must apologize for Ren’s actions,” he muttered, his fingertips barely brushing against her sore skin.

“You don’t get on with him,” Mara observed as she was fumbling with her uniform tunic.

“I suppose not,” he gulped.

“What’s he even doing here?”

“We didn’t expect his arrival till the next month at the very least,” Hux sighed, finally lowering his eyes. “Perhaps you should stay away from him. He’s dangerous, yet his presence is the will of the Supreme Leader…” His voice was suddenly tender and caring.

“And how shall I address you now?” she changed the subject, noticing new bands on sleeves of his uniform. _How many boots did he have to lick before he was allowed to rise so in the chain of command? And how did she not notice sooner?_ She wondered. “If I’m not mistaken, you’ve been promoted during my absence.”

“…Yes.”

“You shouldn’t be here, then.”

“Do you wish me to go?” He seemed to be hurt emotionally.

Mara let out a heavy sigh.

Hux rose to his feet and glanced down on the floor to see a ball of bristled fur. “No animals are allowed on board, by the way. That would be considered as a violation of the Code,” he uttered giving away not a single hint of surprise. “Where did you get it?”

“It stuck up with me somewhere,” Mara shrugged.

“During the unsuccessful pursuit?” he asked.

“Not authorized to tell,” she began before realizing that the man standing before her was probably acquainted almost _intimately_ with all her operations of late since he had obviously been in training to command a whole division of the Order…

\- - -

“Be careful about the girl, General.”

Ren’s distorted voice had a chilling effect on Hux. “What about her?” he snapped, irritated, his bloodshot eyes coming up from the datapad in his hands.

“I know that you harbour _feelings_ toward her, and I can only say: how pathetic of you.” Hux could only glare at him, clearly pissed, but it did not stop the Commander from continuing. “You should know that she is Force-sensitive.”

“ _What_ _the_ _hell_?”

“… And Supreme Leader Snoke shall be informed of her existence immediately.”

“You wouldn’t dare, Ren,” the General growled.

“Although her power may be only latent, the Force has already started manifesting. Did you know that she has been having visions for quite a long time already?” By General’s facial expression mirroring surprise, Kylo Ren assumed that the Lieutenant did not tell him anything – and that somehow pleased him in a dark, twisted way. “She has also the gift of foresight to certain extent; otherwise she could not be _that_ good. She can clearly predict her opponent’s moves, even though it may be limited.” He was now revelling in General’s palpable confusion. “Stop fucking her. She shall not be important to you anymore; however, her existence may prove crucial to Snoke’s agenda.”

“He would order your Knights to hunt her down and murder her eventually,” Hux spat.

“Perhaps.”

\- - -

Walking through the dimly lit corridors, Mara’s eyes were locked with the holoprojection in her hands as she was still getting familiar with the planets it showed her in pale blue light. It was part of the whole new set of missions she was bound to complete in next few months, and the asteroid field contained within one particular planetary system she was viewing at that moment would be definitely making any manoeuvres difficult. Besides, the system lay beyond the border of Uncharted Regions, and the projection she was viewing was only preliminary intelligence report.

She would have to count on its accuracy.

“A word with you, Lieutenant.”

She turned sharply at the direction of masculine voice, brushing her shoulder involuntarily against the towering frame of Ren angrily stomping out of General’s quarters. He instantly shoved her violently against the hard wall, knocking a breath out of her. He was holding her throat with a gloved hand for a brief moment before he seemed to change his mind and turned on his heels to vanish somewhere in the ship’s inner labyrinth of corridors.

 _What the fuck is his problem?_ She was glaring furiously after the group of Stormtroopers accompanying the black figure before it turned around a corner.

“Lieutenant!” Hux snapped beside her, motioning for her to come inside. He waited for the door to close before he announced, pacing around the room: “You’re being transferred immediately.”

Mara stood there for a few seconds, unable to proceed his words. “But sir, what about the mission?” she asked at last.

“The High Command will provide you with new set of coordinates as soon as possible.” Yet she could not be sure whether he meant the position of her new assignment, or whether he was talking about completely new task they would send her to complete. When his initial rage subsided and he stopped circling her, Hux noted her confusion. ”It’s not safe for you on this ship,” he started babbling, not quite meeting her gaze. “He knows about you… about the Force… He wants your head… I cannot… I will not – _shit_! I will not just stand there watching –”

“Ren or Snoke?” she broke in, interrupting his monologue.

“What?” he asked.

“Who wants me dead? Ren or Snoke?” Mara repeated with strange calmness reigning her voice. And she continued, not letting him to speak yet. “I’ve run into Ren when he was leaving a few minutes ago. Is he going to kill me?”

“He might,” Hux whined. The sound was so unlike him. “He… he was talking about Supreme Leader being interested in you because… because… Ren sensed your Force sensitivity.”

Now it was her turn to get irritated. “ _What_? That’s impossible! – I mean, I was tested back on Arkanis and passed,” she breathed out, totally unaware of falling on her knees before him.

That _bastard_. It only meant that Ren rummaged through her memories. What else did he learn?

It took her a moment to mentally compose herself again before she was able to form a coherent question. But when she asked it, somewhere deep in her mind she felt as if signing a death warrant. “How much time do I have?”

“A few days at the most,” he affirmed, and then left her a minute for his words to sink in.

Mara’s thoughts were suddenly in a whirlwind. “I’m unable to take out all of the Knights – especially Scorpius, that’s hell of a bastard. He’s cunning, and thanks to our previous encounter, he may be able to predict my moves,” she was thinking rather aloud. “Transfer? With all due respect, General, but that’s out of question for now. And I cannot flee, either. That would conclude in fierce manhunt.” She bit her lower lip enough to draw blood.

Hux was standing directly above her, gently moving her chin so she would be looking into his eyes. “Mara, please… Staying here means death,” he whispered. “I may be selfish, but I don’t want you to die yet.”

 _All men must die once; it is inevitable._ However, she stayed silent, not letting the thought slip from her lips.

\- - -

The vessel exited the hyperspace near some deserted planetoid. As soon as she brought it to a halt near a rusty space dock, the comlink light was flashing as it was receiving messages.

Well, this one was particularly interesting: a reward on her head had been announced. They wanted her dead or alive, and offered a fair price in exchange – well, if ten thousand credits or about hundred portions could be considered as fair. Mara switched the holoprojection off, sick of watching it.

Technically speaking, she was on a mission, not a fugitive –

Until now –

And she would bet her customized sniper rifle that there would be at least one bounty hunter present at the station she was currently watching from her cockpit; although the better ones did not usually go under _one hundred thousand_ credits.

Mara had to laugh on the thought.

No, Ren was far over stupid. It was a smart move indeed. While the lowly bounty hunters would engage her, she would pay less attention to anything else, and thus there would be a plenty of occasions for him to get to her and strike.

Before she knew it, the comlink buzzed with life again – and a B-wing appeared at the horizon.

 _“To the unregistered vessel,”_ a deep voice announced, _“identify yourself and surrender immediately; otherwise you will be annihilated.”_

The B-wing was approaching her fast. There was a crimson starbird, the symbol of the Resistance, painted on its hull.

“No way,” Mara muttered under her breath as she plotted a new jump, instantly engaging the hyperdrive.

\- - -

As if Hux suddenly remembered something, he abruptly turned on his heels and stormed out of the command centre, leaving astonished subordinates there. They had never seen him so… unfocused. And although they were slowly getting used to the presence of new Commander who had been throwing tantrums rather regularly and destroying the precious equipment of the ship, they were somehow relying on General’s standoffish sanity.

He almost raided the sleeping quarters of Lieutenant Pace, finding the poor ginger-furred animal lying on the pile of leftover clothes. Was it already dead?

No.

The creature was famished, though, and unable to stand up when it registered General’s presence in the small room. It did not resist him when he grabbed it along with the tunic it was lying on. He then left the room before the echo of stomping feet could get any nearer.

\- - -

The last thing she remembered was a rather rough crash landing. Before the computer was destroyed by the impact, it showed that the vessel was entering the atmosphere of Barkhesh. It was somewhere in Seitia sector – if she was not mistaken. She could not recall how she ended there first place, but considering she had performed quite a few blind jumps without double-checking the calculations first, Mara could count herself lucky that she had not crashed into some supermassive object during plenty of occasions.

Did she have a hallucination, or was it a sound of TIE fighter fast approaching?

She did not think twice; grabbing both bag and riffle, she started climbing out of the shipwreck through broken cockpit windshield, groaning when her supposedly severely bruised torso got exerted too much.

There were tons of debris around the wreck. Mara was stumbling among nonessential parts of the vessel’s hull scattered on small clearing in otherwise vast greenery of what seemed to be some densely forested valley. Soon she spotted the TIE fighter which had been pursuing her previously –

And now it engaged in fire again, only to drive her further into bushes.

At least it could not fly after her into the densely packed tree trunks – but would its pilot land to chase her on foot, or would it leave her? What if there was at least one large ship on the orbit somewhere? Although… if she remembered correctly, there had to be an old rebel base on Barkhesh. In case that the Resistance re-established an outpost here, could the Star Destroyer even appear here? Besides, they had to witness the crash on their close-range radars at least, and would surely come to inspect the site soon –

Which did not mean she would willingly wait on the spot, though. The last time she checked, there was the First Order patch on her flightsuit.

Mara came over something what looked like an ancient temple soon after she started walking in the general direction towards the slowly setting sun. A flight of quite steep stairs led to a platform which overtopped the nearest treetops. Climbing it would be risky because she could be easily spotted by the TIE scout, yet she was in dire need of gaining some vantage point for otherwise she would get lost in the foliage below.

She decided to climb the stairs.

It was definitely chillier above the trees compared to windless humidity under them – and she did not even climb to the top of the temple which was completely calm and lifeless. Upon looking around, Mara realized that she was definitely in a valley. And that hers was not the only temple peeking through the greenery. Moreover, it was also a graveyard of some kind: the giant wrecks of Star Destroyers were rusting and decomposing, slowly becoming the part of the forest. During the Galactic Civil War, there was a battle over Barkhesh, too, and thus the huge skeletons of once mighty starships were a reminder that even in the Outer Rim the former Empire had lost eventually.

Smoke column was rising towards the sky in the east. She could not quite recollect whether the wreck was in fire when she got out of it or not.

A sudden jolt of pain reminded her of sustained injuries that needed immediate attention. She could only pray for grabbing the right bag – the one that contained a medical kit.

Before she knew it, however, the TIE fighter appeared again. Strangely, it seemed to know exactly where Mara was hidden, almost as if the pilot _sensed_ her –

On the instant, she knew: it had to be none other than Scorpius pursuing her this far. She regretted that she had not driven his red lightsaber through his guts when she had had the chance.

Only this time, she could also spot an X-wing patrol in the distance.

A blaster cannon fire shook the temple. Feeling nauseous, Mara could not get into safe distance quickly enough when the temple entrance started crumbling, the rocks falling toward her. She could only hide under what she suspected to be some kind of roof overhanging, mentally preparing for the final shot –

Which was never delivered, though.

Two X-wings detached from the squadron and hung behind the tail of the fighter, driving it away from her hideout.

Mara’s vision became blurred rapidly both from the blood loss and the hit on back of her head she previously had not fully registered because of the rush of adrenalin washed into her bloodstream.

\- - -

Man, how she _hated_ waking up in med bay.

The beeping of vital controls annoyed her.

At least they had the decency to let her keep her prosthetic arm, although its surface had been removed; the artificial skin had been most likely damaged in the crash.

 _The_ _crash_ –

Memories flooded her mind suddenly, overwhelming her for a moment. But Mara also remembered that she was a prisoner of the Resistance now, and they would treat her as they deemed fit. Perhaps they did know who _exactly_ she was; if they were to find out that she personally was responsible for assassinating their allies, she did not doubt they would put her down as soon as possible.

It was a kind of paradox to treat her injuries before the killing her, was it not?

A medical droid attending to her as to only patient there informed her that she had been kept in induced coma for about five days to let her injuries heal properly. It also removed old cloth patches soaked with bacta gel, and before it could apply clean bandage, she took in a soft pink tissue of her abdomen. “A piece of debris was trapped there, fortunately plugging the wound so you did not bleed to death,” its metallic voice explained as it worked. “Of course, minor bruises and superficial injuries have healed already. But this one cut deeper.”

“Uh-huh,” Mara mumbled, mentally pushing the droid away. She hated medical droids.

Later that evening, however, she was about to learn that the Resistance would take a full advantage in her anticipated usefulness first – because now people were standing in a circle around her. Some were strapping her wrists and ankles to the table while others watched intently. She could not make out their faces properly, being partially blinded by the bright light placed directly above her head. Then they injected her with something she suspected being a truth serum.

And indeed it was.

“Don’t fight it, otherwise it would only get worse,” a man told her. He was wearing a uniform of sorts, the epaulettes on it giving away his rank of General. “We’ve injected you with _bravo six beta_ , and you will feel its effect soon enough.”

 _Bravo six_ was crap that even the First Order Intelligence did not use anymore. It was a strong truth serum known to mess with brains badly. It always induced visual exaggeration and paranoia, and triggered fear in the central nervous system. Should the victim try to resist it, he or she would go totally crazy.

But Mara did not want to end as a nervous wreck –

Then it kicked in. And it hurt like hell; like the molten lava flowed in her veins instead of blood.

“For starters,” General Deso spoke up, “let’s begin with your name.”

\- - -

The Resistance tried the same interrogation technique over and over again, only increasing the dosage. But they could not make her talk for a long time – until they applied just the right amount of truth serum one day. She long since ceased counting the days she spent on the base, though. But today was a special day, indeed. Today, they decided not only to inform General Organa about her presence there, but they also relayed Mara’s interrogation, so Leia Organa herself could watch it.

Mara refused to spill her secrets, although semi-willingly, though, and that was where it got nasty – fighting the serum caused nightmare hallucinations and thus targeted her fear. What she was not aware of was the fact that the Resistance did possess a device that allowed them access to her visions, so they could watch what was happening inside her head first-hand…

She found herself in one room with Kylo Ren who was currently wielding his lightsaber. Its angry hissing and cracking was enough to cause hair rise on back of her neck. He did not waste any time, charging against her quickly –

Could she stand a chance?

She just crouched, and wrapping her hands over head, awaited the fatal blow and searing pain coming with it –

Neither did come, however.

 _Get it over with once and for all,_ she thought, and gritting her teeth, she risked turning to face him. But instead of Kylo Ren, Scorpius stood a mere inches away now. He grabbed her forearm, twisting it behind her back painfully. He then forced her to bend over the nearest furniture – which happened to be the bed in med bay – and fumbled with her dress for just a second before Mara felt him pressing against her entrance.

“No!” she was shrieking. “No, please, no!” She was afraid in earnest.

Her screams did not stop him; and thus Scorpius Ren raped her.

Right, Mara Pace was not afraid of death; she feared being absolutely helpless, at someone’s mercy. Also, somewhere deep inside her resided bunch of yet another anxieties, and having to deal with Scorpius again was clearly one of them, too.

“Stop it now!” a commanding voice of General Organa found a way even to her torment.

\- - -

He had to maintain his mask of indifference in front of others; but once the door shut behind him and concealed him from the rest of the ship, General fell onto the chair with heavy sigh. Yet it was not before he slid down from it when tears started welling up in his eyes, all stinging.

Although he hoped that the rumours were untrue, Hux could feel deep in his heart that they were not.

_We believe her dead, sir –_

At least partly.

_Her shuttle crash-landed six day cycles ago, sir. There have been no signs of life picked in the area since –_

_You should rather stop thinking about her, General. She’s just another casualty –_

Bile rose within him. A ball of fur brushed against his trousers before it climbed into his lap, its deep green eyes watching him intently all the time. “She’s gone,” he whispered, resting his hand on cat’s back. His next breath hitched in his pipe as the quiet sob left Hux’s lips. “She’s gone and all she’s left me is _you_ , Millicent…”

\- - -

A shuttle was dispatched from Barkhesh to transport the prisoner. General Organa ordered her people to bring Mara to her, and argued an instant ending of any interrogations. What rebels did not expect, however, was encountering the Star Destroyer immediately after leaving the atmosphere. TIE fighter squadron intercepted them, cutting the shuttle off from its small escort effectively. And soon, the vessel was safely docked in the side hangar of the Destroyer. Yet a high dose of purple-coloured nytinite put the rebel crew to sleep first before Stormtroopers burst in.

Mara found herself lying on the floor of a tiny cell. Memories came to her easily, and now she remembered both being escorted from the base and being caught by the Order. As she was looking around, she did not notice a hooded figure sitting behind a two-way mirror at first. But when she finally did, she could not take her eyes off him.

“Ren,” she croaked after a while.

He nodded.

“Am I really so valuable asset?” she asked in whisper because her voice was currently incapable of higher sound level.

“Not at all,” his distorted voice came in through a speaker hidden in the wall.

“The why sending a Star Destroyer after me?”

“Supreme Leader wished it.”

Her eyebrows creased in confusion. “That does not make a sense,” she mumbled to herself.

“But it does.” Ren’s smirk was suddenly palpable from his words.

“Snoke wants me dead,” Mara concluded suddenly. It seemed so clear now; the truth hidden behind Leader’s latest actions – “He wishes to watch me die; yet he would not risk it to see it personally because I am not that _valuable_ when it comes to the Force.”

Kylo Ren only watched her with hidden amusement. Of course, she would undoubtedly figure this out sooner or later –

“But why not just leak some information which would _accidentally_ include their prisoner? The Republic would gladly execute me, and Snoke would get what he wants.” She stopped for a moment to think about it before she added: “They would kill me regardless; I was a dead man since the start there.”

“Perhaps you weren’t,” Ren retorted.

“Doesn’t matter,” Mara waved her hand dismissively. She then tried to stand up on her wobbly feet a few times before she finally managed to maintain her dignity in front of the Knight, although she had to seek support from the glass wall. He too stood up. “Now,” the Lieutenant held her head high, “let us finish what we started.”

“Gladly.” He then gave signal to somebody she could not see, and two Stormtroopers entered her cell immediately. Without resisting, she went with them, letting them to lead the way to the Throne Room where the Supreme Leader awaited their arrival impatiently.

And at the feet of the enormous hologram of this megalomaniac with disfigured body stood –

“General!” the Supreme Leader barked to gain the man’s quickly fading attention.

Mara froze at the sight of Hux standing on the end of aisle leading to the darkened room. _Has this been your plan all along?_ she thought desperately, aware of Ren’s ability to read her mind. Yet whether he heard it or not, the Knight of Ren did not show.

Stormtroopers pushed the woman to her knees before the Leader.

“What’s this supposed to mean, Ren?” Hux growled, watching the group in disbelief. His eyes locked with Mara’s momentarily, and he could notice a whirl of various emotions in them. Revolt. Regret. Bravado. Fear. Defiance.

Snoke did notice that, too. “Finally,” he boomed theatrically. “Your _wife_ has honoured us with her presence, General.”

Hux was clearly taken aback –

Which elicited a scorn from Snoke. “Did you think I would not know of your little dirty secret, General?” he huffed then. “That you fucked this whore, thinking how clever you were to do so in secret every time you stuck your cock into her wet cunt?”

“How dare you –”

“Silence!” Snoke roared to shut her up.

Yet she fought against restraining arms of Stormtroopers on her shoulders that kept her kneeling in front of them until Ren used the Force on her.

“You have to keep your mind clear, General,” Snoke’s authoritative voice reigned the Throne Room again and Hux’s head snapped to attention automatically.

“But what shall I do, Supreme Leader?”

A hideous smirk curved Snoke’s disfigured lips. “Just watch,” he said calmly before turning to his apprentice. “Finish her,” he then commanded.

And Kylo Ren did. He swung the angry red blade of his lightsaber in the air before burying it in Lieutenant’s body.

It took Hux only a single heartbeat before he realized what this all meant. This was supposed to be an execution, and it was meant for his eyes specifically. A scream got stuck deep in his throat, thus he could not protest. He could only fall to his knees beside the now lifeless body, looking in disbelief at the Knight. The smell of burnt flesh soon became overwhelming.

“What have you done?” he cried, his voice cracking at the first word.

 “The girl was a mere distraction,” Snoke sneered behind him. “She kept you unfocused for so long. Do not mourn her, otherwise I shall choose a better leader, someone more suitable to serve our cause. To lead the First Order efficiently to its victory.”

Somehow, Hux knew that bile would rise within him later. Maybe Millicent would come to him, watching him with those deep green eyes that would remind him of _her_ , and General would lie down on the floor, letting the tears flow freely. “She’s gone,” he would whisper after a while, letting the ginger-furred cat rest under his arm. Not so quiet sobs would slip past Hux’s lips unrestrained. “She’s finally gone…” he would whisper after many hours of mourning.

And determined to never look back, he would let the giant hole in his heart fill with pure hatred for the murderer.


End file.
